Where blood is thicker than water…

Episode 3-13: Inferno

Duncan woke up from his coma again unable to remember who attacked him but knew it wasn’t Pearl.

Pearl received a series of terrifying phone calls while alone at the farm; she soon realized who was making them—Bridget Walsh.

Damien had a nightmare that he bit Pearl as a werewolf.

Bridget broke into the farm and held Pearl at knife-point.

Halloween NightThe Lawrence Farm, 11:00 p.m.

Bridget Walsh and Pearl Tyler were outside of the empty stable. Bridget held a knife to Pearl’s back, a maddening gleam in her big brown eyes. Just moments before, she had entered into the farmhouse through the open basement window of Pearl’s bedroom and ambushed Pearl, after making scary and threatening phone calls to her.

“Open the door Pearl,” Bridget barked, pressing the knife harder against her back.

Pearl did as she was told. Secretly, she wanted to try and overpower her, but she knew if she did, Bridget would have no hesitations in using her knife and she couldn’t risk losing her baby. Her unborn daughter was all she was thinking of right now.

Bridget shoved Pearl inside and the older woman fought to keep her balance. Bridget closed the doors and leered at Pearl, who struggled to keep calm.

“This is where it all ends,” Bridget ominously told her enemy. “This is where you burn.”

“You’re going to set this stable on fire with me inside,” Pearl deduced. “You’re sick. You won’t get away with this. Quinn’s seen you threaten me himself. And there’s another who knows all about you too. His name is Damien Collins. He met you in Bigelow. They’ll both know it was you.”

Bridget’s face seethed with rage. “So, you only don’t have Quinn, you have Damien nipping at your heels too like some needy little terrier! He told me he was in a relationship—was it with you Pearl? And you call me a whore.”

“If I tried to explain, it would take weeks,” Pearl said, trying hard to keep her voice from cracking. “Look, you can have Quinn. I asked him to find someone else. You know I don’t care if you two get together. You don’t have to kill me and my baby!”

“That’s right. I will have Quinn but as long as you’re around he won’t get over you. This is the only way. You have to die Pearl.” Bridget waved the knife in Pearl’s face. Then she walked to a pile of hay off to the side. Pearl watched helplessly as Bridget uncovered the hay to reveal a gas can.

Bridget walked back to Pearl. “Now you’re going to get back in that corner and I’m going to set this place on fire. I hope you’ve enjoyed your time on earth, you hag. Because now I’m really going to enjoy mine—with Quinn.”

Pearl thought about trying to run for a brief second. There’s a door that leads out to the other side. You could make it. You have to fight for your daughter.

She decided to take the chance. “All right, I’m going into the corner.” She turned around and began to head towards the back. Bridget followed closely. Suddenly, Pearl whipped around and knocked into Bridget hard. The blonde fell to the floor and Pearl started to run. But just as she made it to the door, she felt a sharp and painful tug on her hair which made her cry out. She tried desperately to escape Bridget’s vice grip, but due to her pregnancy she got tired easily. Bridget pushed her, and Pearl caught herself against the door. She slid down to the ground, sobbing.

Bridget let out a peal of chilling laughter. “Your little attempt to escape was entertaining but did you really think you could outrun me? I’m smaller and not carrying a brat in my stomach.”

Pearl looked through tears to see Bridget open the gas can and walk back and forth, pouring out the flammable liquid. She threw the can on the floor and pulled out a pack of matches out of the left pocket of her purple leather jacket. With a malicious smile she removed a match and struck it and tossed it on the ground. Orange flames shot up instantly. Pearl crawled into the corner trying to avoid the fire.

“Goodbye Pearl,” Bridget said with calm menace. Then she ran the other way and out the stable door.

Pearl started to cry again. “God, someone please help me,” she said through her tears.

**************************

The Nightshade home

Quinn stood by the living room window gazing out into the night, a look of worry on his face. He had been trying to call Pearl Tyler several times and each time the phone was busy. He tried her cell phone but the voicemail kept coming on. Something is wrong, he thought dreadfully to himself.

Just then, his brother Jude came through the front door. “Hi Quinn, I’m back,” he said. He didn’t get a response. “Hey Quinn, I’m home!” he yelled brightly.

Quinn turned around. “Hi,” he weakly replied.

“What’s wrong?” Jude asked.

“I’m worried about Pearl,” he answered tightly. She’s not answering the phone at the Lawrences’ or her cell phone. “I hope nothing’s happened with the baby.”

“Maybe you should go over there and find out what’s going on,” Jude told him. “It may be nothing, but better safe than sorry.”

“You’re right. I’m going there now to check up on her. Hopefully she’s just asleep and not hearing the phone.” Quinn walked to the coat hanger by the front door and slipped on his black leather jacket. He reached for his car keys inside his right pocket. “I’ll call you later” he said to his brother.

Jude nodded. “I’ll be here.”

Quinn left, his stomach tangled up in knots. He had no idea the danger he was about to encounter.

***********************

Bigelow Community Hall

A large group of people were inside, drinking hot chocolate and munching on Halloween goodies. Gene and Iva Lawrence were sitting at the table, taking the festivities in.

“Isn’t it great to see people have fun?” Iva asked her husband.

Gene nodded in approval. “I was never much into Halloween but I have to say this is a lot of fun. It reminds me of when I was kid in the fall.”

The couple immediately got up from their seats and followed him through the big double doors to the front of the building, where Sadie Todd was sitting on a bench. She was breathing heavy and she was pale. Iva and Gene sat on each side of her, with Iva taking her hand.

“Sadie honey, what’s wrong? Micah said you aren’t feeling well.”

“I don’t know what happened Auntie. Micah and I were sitting on this bench talking when all of a sudden, I started coughing and choking and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. My lungs were burning.”

“Do you think it’s a psychic reaction to something that happened at the very same time?” Iva asked her niece.

“It must be. I was perfect up until that moment,” Sadie replied.

Micah knelt down in front of her. “Put it out of your mind Sadie. Just relax—“ Then he felt a burning sensation travel all over his body and he stopped talking.

“Micah, what’s going on? Are you having a vision?” Sadie asked, getting apprehensive.

“Fire,” Micah said. “A huge fire. Flames everywhere…lots of smoke.”

Sadie’s eyes widened. It was as if a light bulb suddenly switched on over her head. “That’s it! That’s why I was choking and coughing. There’s a fire raging somewhere and someone’s trapped. I was feeling what they were feeling.”

Micah’s vision finally passed and he let out a deep breath. “Wow…that was intense. I could feel the heat.”

Gene got off the bench. “I just had a premonition myself. I think I need to go back inside and call Pearl and make sure she’s okay.”

“You don’t think Pearl is the one caught in a fire?” Iva asked, growing worried.

“I don’t know, but we should check on her to make sure things are okay back at the farm,” Gene told her reassuringly.

************************

The Lawrence Farm, 30 minutes later

Pearl watched helplessly as the flames slowly inched closer and closer. The smoke was getting thick and she could feel her throat get warm and scratchy.

You’ve got to find a way to get out of here, she frantically thought to herself. Maybe you can try and open the door. She managed to get up and she pushed the door but it wouldn’t budge. Oh God, Bridget locked it shut. She’s trapped you in here, in this raging inferno and you can’t escape.

She slid back down to the ground and tried to keep calm. “I’m not going to let us die little girl. Maybe someone has seen the fire and they’ve called 911. We’re going to make it out of here alive. Mummy will make sure of that, I promise you.” She rubbed her stomach.

She scooted as far back into the corner as she could go. Tears were forming in her eyes. She turned her head and she saw it—a small hole that had rotted through the wood. She look around again and saw a small pick near her feet. She grabbed it. “Maybe I can cut a space out for us to crawl through.” She started stabbing away but after a few minutes, she got tired. “You have to keep doing it Pearl,” she encouraged herself.

The smoke was getting thicker and she started to cough. It was getting harder to breathe. Pearl attempted another round of stabbing away at the door but a few moments into it, the pick slipped and the sharp edge nicked the side of her hand. She cried out and dropped the pick. She lay back on the ground and the tears flowed out of her like rain pouring into a storm drain.

“We can’t die here!” she sobbed. “We need to live so we can tell everyone what Bridget did! She’s not going to get away with murdering an innocent little baby!”

She began to cough again and a pressure started to build in her chest. “No,” she moaned. “I have to fight through this!”

Her hand reached for the pick again. She struggled to sit up but it was difficult. “No, you’d better lay still and save your energy. You’ll only make the coughing worse.”

After a few seconds of lying on the ground, she looked into the searing orange flames that danced around her. She thought she saw a white shape walking through them. You’re seeing things, she told herself.

But the white shape got closer and the image got clearer. It was a young woman with long red hair and a pretty, sweet face wearing a flowing white dress. It wasn’t Megan Manning. This was someone different, someone Pearl had never seen.

To her astonishment, the figure managed to get through the fire unharmed. She knelt down beside Pearl and smiled. “You’re not going to die Pearl,” she said, her voice echoing and peaceful. “You and your daughter will live. But you need to be strong. You’re a fighter. You will always be a fighter.”

Pearl was dumbfounded. “Who are you?” was the only thing she could say.

The young woman smiled again. “We’re going to meet someday. But for right now, all you need to know is that you’re going to get out of here. Just stay calm. I’ll see you soon Pearl. Goodbye.” She started to fade away.

“Wait, don’t leave,” Pearl murmured. But the image was gone just as quickly as it appeared. Pearl didn’t know who she was but she felt a sense of security and comfort and it made her feel good.

Then, she heard a loud ripping sound. Pearl turned her head to see the doors of the stable being torn off their hinges like pieces of paper being ripped in half. And then she saw Quinn Nightshade standing there huffing and puffing with a look of fierceness on his face. Relief flooded her body. “Quinn!” she hollered.

Quinn rushed to her and scooped her up into his arms. He carried her out of the stable and safely away into the cool night. Just as soon as he got her outside to safety, the stable began to collapse. Wooden boards that were mounted on the ceiling came crashing down to the ground. Smoke and fire poured angrily out of the ruined building.

Quinn brought Pearl around to the front of the farmhouse and laid her on the ground. She began to cough some more and then rapidly inhaled fresh autumn air. Then she spoke. “Quinn, if you hadn’t come…my baby and I would have burned to death.”

“Shh, don’t talk sweetheart. I’ve called 911 and they should be on their way.” He leaned down and tenderly kissed her, holding her tight and rocking her. “I knew something was wrong when you weren’t answering both the house and cell phones. How could something like this happen?”

“It was Bridget. She forced me into the stable and set it on fire. She already had the gas can,” Pearl darkly explained.

Quinn couldn’t believe it. “What???”

“She wanted me and my baby dead because I was in the way of her being with you. That’s how much she hates me. She broke into the farm and held a knife on me. There was nothing I could do.” Pearl began to cry again.

A furious glare spread on Quinn’s face. “That bitch is going to pay, I swear. She isn’t going to get away with this, I promise.”

“We’ll tell the firefighters that when they get here,” Pearl said, wiping her tears away.

The two heard sirens approaching. “They’re here,” Quinn remarked. He kissed her again. “I love you so much. If anything had happened to you…I don’t know what I would have done.”

He gave her another kiss just as the fire and paramedics pulled up. Pearl and Quinn watched the men in the heavy yellow suits rush to the fire carrying the long hoses. Meanwhile the paramedic team descended on Pearl and began to work on her. Quinn moved out of the way so they could check her vital signs and give her oxygen. Damn you Bridget, you had better watch out. If I find you, I will kill you, he silently threatened.

*********************

St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center, Lewiston

Duncan Tyler was asleep but it wasn’t a restful slumber. The images of his attack swirled around in his mind. He saw the pipe, he saw it come down…but the face of his assailant was still unclear.

He tossed and turned and grunted and groaned. He was opening the door to his hotel room. But the face was blacked out, like in a news broadcast where they hid a person’s identity. Why couldn’t he remember? Was it because he didn’t want to remember?

The person came in, dressed in black from head to toe. He saw the flash of the pipe. He screamed no. But the blows kept coming and coming and coming. It wouldn’t stop. She wouldn’t stop…

“Mr. Tyler, is everything okay?”

Duncan awoke with a start. He saw her standing above him.

“You’re not going to finish me off!” he screamed. He lunged and reached for her throat.

“Mr. Tyler no!” the nurse screamed. “You’re having a bad dream!”

Suddenly, the door to his room burst open. Doctor Gail Warren ran in, followed by Duncan’s parents, Sheldon and Amelia Tyler. “Mr. Tyler, what are you doing?” Doctor Warren exclaimed.

Duncan put his hands down. “She’s the one who tried to kill me!” he yelled, motioning to the nurse, who was still shaken.

“Bridget Walsh. She’s the one that did it. She’s the one that attacked me,” Duncan replied. He heaved a sigh of relief. “I finally remember now. It was Bridget.”

************************

The road near Haven Lake

Bridget Walsh sat inside her rental car, silently seething. Her vehicle had stalled due to a dead battery and nobody had come along that she could flag down to help her jump it. Goddamn backwater town, she cursed to herself.

Her plan was to leave town and then return weeks later, playing innocent. Then she would ease herself back into Quinn’s life—and his bed. He’ll get over Pearl, she thought. He’s not a man that can go without so long.

Suddenly her mind flashed to Duncan Tyler, her ex-lover. She went back to that stormy night she hit him repeatedly with a pipe she had brought with her from home. She found it in the parking lot of her workplace. Those idiot men always leaving stuff behind for someone else to find. At least I put it to good use. I got my revenge on Duncan for leaving me. Now he’ll be a vegetable for life. With him out of commission and Pearl burnt to a crisp, I can get on with my life. People think I’m some dumb little tramp…but they soon learn not to cross me.

The headlights of a car pulling off to the side of the road jolted Bridget from her evil reflections. She looked up and saw a tall man with short blond hair get out of a dark colored sports car. He walked towards her car and tapped on the driver side window. She opened the door.

“Hey, can you help me? My battery died and I’m in desperate need of a jump,” she pleaded.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help you with that,” he said.

Bridget’s face fell. “I need to get out of here. I’m heading to the airport so I can head back home.”

“What’s the matter, don’t you like Haven?” the stranger inquired.

Bridget snorted. “This nothing little place? Hardly. I don’t see how anyone can live in this speck.” She got out and stretched. “It certainly doesn’t live up to its name.”

The man smiled. “My sons live here and they have for years. Maybe you’ve met them. Quinn and Jude are their names.”

Bridget arched her eyebrows. So, I’m talking to Quinn’s father. Hmm, he looks really young to have a son that old. Well, I can’t dwell on that now. I can tell him what a jerk Quinn is and how he screwed me over—literally.

She grinned, a little too deviously. “As a matter of fact, I did meet Quinn. Actually I did more than meet him…I slept with him.”

Christoph Nightshade frowned. “You’re joking.”

“I don’t joke about things like that. I slept with him last night—and he treated me like common trash. I don’t appreciate that at all, so you can tell Quinn that Bridget Walsh told him to rot in hell and I hope he has a miserable life.”

Christoph pursed his lips. “There had to be a reason why Quinn acted the way he did. Maybe he realized he made a mistake.”

Bridget fumed. “I am not a mistake! How dare you talk to me that way! She pulled her knife out of her jacket pocket and thrust it in Christoph’s face. “I’ve dealt with one loser tonight, I can deal with another.” She jerked her head towards his car. “Since you’re in Haven already, you won’t mind if I take your car now do you? I’m sure Quinn can give you rides if you need them.”

“We’ll see.” Christoph moved closer, stealthy as a panther. Bridget raised the knife, prepared to attack. But to her horror, he pushed her back with one hand and she went flying into the grass. The knife shot out of her hand onto the ground. Christoph retrieved it. Bridget slowly got up, recovering from the sudden and powerful attack. Pain raced through her body. She clutched her head and groaned. She lifted her head and stared at Christoph. She tried to look tough but her composure had been broken—and he knew it.

Christoph held up the knife. With the flick of his hand, he bent down the metal weapon and then threw it back on the ground. Bridget could only gape in shock. “You’re crazy,” she half-whispered.

“Oh my dear, when you’re a creature such as I, sometimes that can’t be helped.” Christoph opened his mouth and hissed, revealing his long sharp fangs. Bridget was in utter disbelief. “My God…this can’t be happening—this can’t be happening!” she cried.

She started to run for the lake. She had to get away from this madman. She couldn’t believe what she had just seen.

Suddenly, she was knocked to the ground with a thud. She screamed and struggled to get away but Christoph’s vampire powers were no match for the tiny blonde. He easily got the upper hand and pulled her over. He knelt on top of her, a bloodthirsty gaze on his handsome face.

“Well, now you know what I really am…and now you also know what Quinn really is. I’m sure he didn’t tell you while you two were together.” He grinned eerily at her. “It’s a shame really. You are a lovely looking girl. But you’ve insulted my son. I don’t take kindly to that.”

“Get off me you freak!” Bridget yelled. She began to struggle but he pinned her down roughly with his hands.

“Don’t worry I will—but not until after I’ve fed,” Christoph told her with a chill in his voice. “I get so hungry sometimes.”

“No!” Bridget hollered. But her cries to stop were ignored as Christoph sunk his fangs into the side of her neck. She went limp and as the life drained out of her, she could only think that maybe death would be better than facing life in prison for attempting to murder both Pearl and Duncan.

Christoph finished feeding and gazed at her lifeless body. He wiped his blood-covered mouth with his hand and rubbed it on the grass. “Looks like I have one more corpse to get rid of before I see my sons. I honestly don’t know what Quinn would have ever seen in you. I’m sure he’ll find someone more suitable…and less psychotic.”

He picked up her body and headed for the woods.

***************************

The Lawrence Farm

Pearl was now on a stretcher. She was getting ready to be loaded into the ambulance to be taken to St. Mary’s. A portable oxygen tank lay beside her and she was breathing clean air through tubes placed over her ears and into her nostrils. She could feel the baby move every now and then and she was immensely relieved.

Quinn was right by her side. “I’m going to follow the ambulance to the hospital. I’m going to stay with you all night so don’t try and get rid of me angel.” He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.

“I won’t, I promise. If it wasn’t for you, my baby and I would be dead. I have to say this—you’re my knight in shining armor. Or, black leather.” Pearl chuckled.

Quinn kissed her again, this time softly on the lips, then placed a hand on her stomach. A few seconds later, he felt the baby kick. “I think she’s warming up to me.”

Pearl smiled. “I think she knows you saved her Mummy.”

One of the paramedics approached Pearl. “Okay Mrs. Tyler, we’re ready to take you to the hospital.” He looked at Quinn. “Is your husband riding with us?”

“No, I’m following in my car,” Quinn answered, not correcting him. Pearl gave him a knowing look but didn’t say anything.

The paramedic nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

He and his colleagues picked up the stretcher and Pearl was safely loaded into the ambulance.

Quinn glanced over in the direction of the stable, which was now reduced to a pile of burnt wood and ashes. He narrowed his eyes. “You’re going to get yours Bridget. Count on it.”

He turned around and walked to his Corvette. He opened the door and saw a red Dodge minivan pull up. Now he had to tell Gene and Iva what happened.

The Lawrences, Sadie and Micah got out of the van. Quinn saw the looks of terror on their faces. He headed in their direction.

“Quinn…My God…what the hell happened?” Gene demanded. “We couldn’t get Pearl on the phone and we just saw the ambulance.”

“Pearl was trapped inside the stable. It was set on fire. I got her out,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Set on fire? By whom?” Iva asked, her voice shaking with fear.

“Did Pearl tell you about Bridget Walsh?” Quinn asked her.

“Yes. She’s the woman that her ex-husband cheated on her with.” Iva’s eyes widened in horror. “You mean, she set our stable on fire?”

Quinn nodded. “She came here to get revenge on Pearl. While you were gone, she somehow got into your house and forced her into the stable and set it on fire. I came here because I knew something was wrong. Pearl wasn’t answering the phone. That’s when I saw the flames and the smoke and rushed over. She was on the ground by the door. Bridget had bolted both of them shut.”

“If it wasn’t for you, Pearl and her baby would be dead. You’re a hero,” Sadie gratefully told him.

Quinn couldn’t help but smile. “I’m not so bad after all, am I?” Then he frowned a little. “That’s what you do when you love someone. You risk your own life to save them.”

He gazed quickly at the ground than back up at the Lawrences and Micah. “I’d better get going. I’m heading to the hospital to be with Pearl.” Before they could reply, he quickly hopped into his car and sped away.

“I guess he really has changed,” Sadie remarked as she watched him leave.

Iva however, wasn’t that convinced. “I’m going to call Damien and let him know what’s happened. He loves her too and needs to be there with her as well.”

“If we had only known the image of the fire I saw and the feelings Sadie had were happening here, maybe we could have done something and Pearl wouldn’t be on her way to the hospital. Maybe we would have caught this Bridget. I wonder if the police were told about her,” Micah sadly surmised.

Gene put a comforting arm around him. “Well, let’s go call them and find out. Then we’ll survey the damage to the stable. The insurance should take care of it. We can’t beat ourselves up about what happened. We just need to be relieved Pearl and that little lass she’s going to be having soon are safe and healthy.”

The four of them started for the farmhouse, still trying to make sense of it all, each hoping things would get back to normal very soon. Meanwhile, smoke still rose from the decimated stable, and into the onyx October sky, a disquieting signal to the end of a once calm Halloween night.

WELCOME TO DARK HAVEN

This is a web drama with a supernatural twist...about a very small town with a very tiny---and unusual---population. When Pearl Tyler, a pregnant divorcee trying to get a fresh start unexpectedly winds up in Haven, Maine thanks to a car accident, her arrival promises to impact everyone who lives here.

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ABOUT BREE

Some of you familiar with Wordpress and the size acceptance community know I have a blog on the Fatosphere called Life on Fats. I've always enjoyed fiction writing and I hope you take some time out to read this web drama!

I'm 34, single, childless by choice and have a beagle named Bailey. I live in Maryland and enjoy writing, shopping, music, dancing and singing karaoke.